If you’ve been reading along, me sharing a stuffed mushroom recipe with you should come as no surprise. I like to think of mushroom caps as a great jumping off point for a myriad of flavor combinations. These Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms provide a flavor blend of savory pepperoni, garlic, melty mozzarella, tangy parmesan, and marinara (which happens to be low carb) in an epic appetizer. They’ll make a great addition to your next dinner party, holiday party, or other get-together. Just make sure you make plenty because they go fast.
What You Need to Make Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Grapefruit Spoon or Pointed End of a Peeler for getting everything out of the mushroom caps
- Large Skillet
- Spatula
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Wire Rack Insert for Rimmed Baking Sheet – optional, but keeps the mushrooms up out of their juices while baking
Ingredients
- Mushrooms – I use Baby Bellas, but White Button Mushrooms would work too.
- Pepperoni – You can pick any size or thickness. It is getting chopped up into tiny pieces, so it won’t matter.
- Large Onion – I use a Spanish Onion, but you can pick a different variety if you prefer.
- Salted Butter – This is just for cooking the mushrooms. I’m sure it’s a me thing, but I like the taste of mushrooms best when cooked in salted butter.
- Avocado Oil – This is just for sautéing the onions and garlic if you need more fat for cooking after removing the sautéed mushrooms. You could use regular Olive Oil if you prefer.
- Garlic – I use the pre-minced garlic that I buy in bulk. You could definitely mince your own garlic if you prefer.
- No Sugar Marinara Sauce – I use Rao’s. You can also use a different flavor such as Rao’s Arribiatta.
- Cream Cheese
- Mozzarella – You can use pre-shredded or shred your own. Just be aware that the anti-caking agent used in many pre-shredded cheeses adds about 1 gram of carbs per ¼ cup. I use pre-shredded cheese.
- Parmesan – I usually buy the pre-grated version for convenience.
- Italian Seasoning – See Recipe Notes if you need to make your own. Also, if you’re using one of the more flavorful sauces rather than regular marinara, you may want to decrease the amount of Italian Seasoning that you use. In that case, add it last and adjust to your taste.
- Keto Bread Crumbs or Crushed Pork Rinds – These are optional for topping.
Getting Started with Making Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms
As stuffed mushrooms go, this is one of the easiest recipes. Since you’ll be using pepperoni, there’s already a lot of flavor and no cooking of the meat component required.
The other note I’ll give before we start is that this work can be staged. You prep the mushrooms and do all of your dicing as one step and then store everything in the fridge until you’re ready to move on. You can also make the stuffing and stuff the mushrooms and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. It’s up to you based on your Time Budget.
Prepping the Mushrooms and Other Ingredients
We’ll get started by wiping 24 ounces Baby Bella Mushrooms with a damp paper towel or cloth to remove any dirt. Then we’ll remove the stems and scrape out the cap to make room for the filling. However, we don’t want to throw the stems away.
We’ll go ahead and dice the stems and other removed mushroom parts and set them aside. You can place the mushroom caps in a bowl or zip top bag and set aside.
Then we’re going to dice ½ pound Pepperoni and set it aside. After that, we’ll dice ½ of a Large Onion (I use a Spanish Onion) and set it aside too until we’re ready to make the pizza filling.
Making the Pizza Filling
Before you start making the filling, get the rest of the ingredients measured out and placed near your cooking surface. So, you should measure out 2 tablespoons of Salted Butter, ½ cup of No Sugar Marinara Sauce, ½ cup Shredded Mozzarella, ½ cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan, 2 teaspoons of minced Garlic, and 4 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning.
Once you have all of your ingredients in place, you will heat 2 tablespoons of Salted Butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté the diced mushroom pieces and stems until they release their juices (about 6 – 8 minutes). Remove them from the heat and set them aside.
In the same pan, we’ll add a bit of Avocado Oil if needed and then sauté the diced Onions until softened (about 8 minutes). Then we’re going to add in the minced garlic and cook it for another 30 – 60 seconds or until fragrant.
At this point, we’re ready to add in all of the other ingredients. Stir in the diced pepperoni and mushroom pieces. Stir in the no sugar marinara sauce (or other flavor of your choice) and the cream cheese. You’ll want to keep stirring until the cream cheese has melted and you have a homogeneous mixture. Then we’ll add in the shredded mozzarella and grated or shredded parmesan. Finally, you’ll taste test the mixture and add in the Italian seasoning as desired. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Stuffing and Baking the Mushrooms
Next up is the stuffing of the mushroom caps. If you’re planning to bake the mushrooms right away, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and insert a wire rack. Set out your mushroom caps on the wire rack. If they start rolling around on you, you can use a paring knife to cut a very thin sliver off the bottom of the cap. This will give you a flat surface.
I suggest using a small spoon for picking up the stuffing mixture. You’ll want to fill each mushroom cap so that you have a mini mound of filling on the top. Then you can optionally sprinkle them with keto bread crumbs or crushed pork rinds for the topping.
You will bake them at 350°F for 40 – 45 minutes and serve them warm. If you need to hold them until your guests arrive, you can keep them in the oven on Warm (180°F) until you’re ready to serve them. For an additional optional garnish, you could sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese on top.
Related Recipes
If you like stuffed mushrooms or are looking for a different flavor profile, take a look at these options:
For a very different form factor for pizza flavor, you might like my Keto Pizza Casserole.
Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Mushrooms ~ 24 mushrooms. I use Baby Bellas, but White Button Mushrooms would work too.
- ½ pound Pepperoni Diced
- ½ Onion Diced (Large Onion. I use Spanish.)
- 2 tablespoons Salted Butter
- 1 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic 2 teaspoons Minced
- ½ cup No Sugar Marinara Sauce
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese 1 package Softened
- ½ cup Mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan shredded or grated
- 4 teaspoons Italian Seasoning See Recipe Notes if you need to make your own
- ½ cup Keto Bread Crumbs or Crushed Pork Rinds Optional for topping
Instructions
- Wipe 24 ounces Mushrooms (Baby Bella or White Button) with a damp paper towel or cloth to remove dirt. Remove the stems and scrape out the cap to make room for the filling. Dice the stems and other removed mushroom parts and set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a bowl or zip top bag and set aside.
- Dice ½ pound Pepperoni. Set it aside. Dice ½ Onion (I use a Spanish Onion) and set it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil for easy clean up if you wish. Place the wire rack on top of the pan.
- Heat 2 tablespoons Salted Butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the diced mushroom stem pieces and sauté until they’ve released their juices. About 6-8 minutes. Set them aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil as needed and sauté the onions until translucent. About 8 minutes. Add in 4 cloves Garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add in the cooked mushroom pieces, diced pepperoni, ½ cup No Sugar Marinara Sauce, 4 teaspoons Italian Seasoning, 8 ounces Cream Cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and evenly distributed.
- Reduce the heat to low medium. Stir in 1/2 cup Mozzarella (shredded) and 1/2 cup Parmesan (shredded or grated) until completely combined. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon the filling into the mushroom caps and place on the wire rack. You will be able to mound the filling on top of each mushroom as well. If you have a mushroom that keeps rolling all over the place, use a sharp knife to take a sliver off the bottom, creating a flat surface.
- Top with ½ cup Keto Bread Crumbs or Crushed Pork Rinds.
- Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Serve warm. If you need to hold these until your guests arrive, you can keep them in the oven on Warm (on my oven, this is 180 degrees F) until ready to serve. Optionally garnish with another sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.
Equipment
- Grapefruit Spoon or Pointed End of a Peeler for getting everything out of the mushroom caps
- Large Sauté Pan or Skillet or Skillet
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Wire Rack Insert for Rimmed Baking Sheet optional, but keeps the mushrooms up out of their juices while baking
Notes
- Italian Seasoning Instructions
- You can make your own with the ingredients below. You can use the amounts listed or adjust for your own purposes. If you happen to have a guest who doesn’t like one of these things like I do (no thyme), you can just omit that herb.
- 1 teaspoon Dried Marjoram
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- You can make your own with the ingredients below. You can use the amounts listed or adjust for your own purposes. If you happen to have a guest who doesn’t like one of these things like I do (no thyme), you can just omit that herb.
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